Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abia State command said it has curtailed pipeline vandals and oil thieves in the state to the barest.
The public relations officer (PRO) of the command, Agu Ndukwe stated this yesterday in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Umuahia, the state capital.
He said this followed improved surveillance, campaign and change in strategy by the command which is more of preventive measures than routine patrol.
He commended the new state commandant, Muhammad Sanyinna for his untiring effort to end the menace, he adding that the measures have been working well for them.
Similarly, a resident of Owaza, one of the oil-bearing communities in Ukwa West local government area of the state, Comrade Godwin Ekeke, confirmed the NSCDC report.
He however alleged that oftentimes, the “havoc is perpetrated by unemployed and misguided youths with the connivance of security personnel and sometimes community leaders.”
A community leader in Oguduasa in Isuikwuato local government area where a pipeline fire disaster claimed many lives over a decade ago, Elder Willy Ogbonna, said “since then the thieves have learnt their lesson.”
